Sunday, March 31, 2013

It is not any ordinary
edifice…. it is the symbolic portrayal of the democracy – it is the Parliament
of India (or Sansad) ~ the federal and
supreme legislative body of India. It consists of two houses – the Lok Sabha
and the Rajya Sabha. It is located in New Delhi at Sansad Marg. More than a decade ago, on that dreaded day, the whole nation trembled. The attack on
India's Parliament stunned a nation that watched what was happening live on
television.

Just to recall the news,
Terrorists on December 13, 2001 attacked the Parliament of India resulting in a
45-minute gun battle in which 9 policemen and a parliament staffer were killed.
All the five terrorists were also killed by the security forces and were
identified as Pakistani nationals. The attack took place around 11:40 am (IST),
minutes after both Houses of Parliament had adjourned for the day. The
suspected terrorists dressed in commando fatigues entered Parliament in a car
through the VIP gate of the building. Displaying Parliament and Home Ministry
security stickers, the vehicle entered the Parliament premises. The terrorists
set off massive blasts and have used AK-47 rifles, explosives and grenades for
the attack. Senior Ministers and over 200 Members of Parliament were inside the
Central Hall of Parliament when the attack took place. Security personnel
sealed the entire premises which saved many lives.

On that day Constable Kamlesh Kumari was first to spot the
terrorist squad. One gunman, wearing a suicide vest, was shot dead; the vest
exploded. The other four gunmen were also killed. Five policemen, a Parliament
security guard, and a gardener were killed, and 18 others were injured. No
minister or any MP was hurt. Indian Government initially accused LeT and JeM to
be involved in this attack. In December 2002, four JeM members were caught by
Indian authorities and put on trial. All four were found guilty of playing
various roles in the incident, although the fourth, Afsan Guru/Navjot Sandhu,
wife of Shaukat Hussain Guru (one of the accused) was found guilty of a minor
charge of concealing knowledge of conspiracy. One of the accused, Mohammad
Afzal Guru, was sentenced to the death penalty for the incident. The execution of Afzal guru was delayed and
on 13th Dec 2006, the families of the deceased returned the medals
to the government expressing their anguish on the inaction.

Saturday, 30th
March 2013 made a turn around…………. the family members of those who lost their
lives in the December 2001 Parliament attack, on Saturday took back the
gallantry medals, which they had returned to the President in 2006 to protest against
the delay in the execution of Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the case. They thanked Indian President and received the medals from President Pranab
Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The
families had announced that they would take back the medals after Afzal was
hanged in February in Tihar Jail. “We thanked the President for passing the
orders for hanging Guru and thereby honouring the memories of the martyrs who
died on December 13 when Parliament was attacked,” said Vipin, whose father
head constable Vijender Singh was among the 10 who lost their lives. Shweta
Singh was also present to receive the medal that was presented to her mother
CRPF constable Kamlesh Kumari posthumously. She expressed “gratitude” to the
President for “rejecting the mercy plea of Guru” and honouring her “mother's
martyrdom.”

All India Anti-Terrorist
Front (AIATF) chairman M.S. Bitta, who accompanied the families to Rashtrapati
Bhavan, said he was grateful to the President for giving back the medals. Mr.
Bitta also urged the President to clear all the pending death sentence cases,
especially of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Punjab Chief
Minister Beant Singh’s assassins. “Rajiv Gandhi is a martyr and one should risk
the government, if required, to hang his assassins,” Mr. Bitta said.

In a memorandum submitted
to the President, the AIATF has requested for the reinstating of cash awards,
which were earlier announced for the security personnel, who fought the
terrorists at the time of the attack on Parliament. The families of CRPF
constable Kamlesh, CPWD Watch and Ward personnel M.S. Negi and Parliament
security personnel J.P. Yadav returned the Ashok Chakra, while the kin of five
police personnel returned the Kirti Chakra. Those who had received the Kirti
Chakra were Delhi Police sub-inspectors Ghanshyam and Nanak Chand, assistant
sub-inspector Ram Pal and head constables Om Prakash and Vijender Singh.

Certainly, the news of the
families of Parliament attack heroes re-accepting bravery medals they returned
in protest over Guru execution delay – must find a place in the National
headlines.

Friday, March 29, 2013

When I circulate my posts through e-mail daily, I have
2 distinct lists ~ one religious, to whom I send my Temple related posts and
the other group gets my posts on Insurance, Current affairs and Sports ~ to
them I keep telling that most of my Cricket posts are about interesting aspects
that surround the game rather than description of the game itself, and hence
could be enjoyable to even those who do not like cricket [by the way are there
many who don’t like Cricket] Here is a perfect
opportunity for me to showcase ~ a post related to IPL ~ but that is not
Cricket………………. first Q ~ how much do you follow pop music and
its entertainers…………. straight do you ogle at Jo Lo…. and if so, be disappointed that
Jennifer Lopez could not quite do what Katy Perry did.

Priyanka Chopra with Murali Vijay, Dhoni and Ashwin

Katy Perry with Boulinger.

Last year it was a great show blitz in Chennai ~ the inauguration of IPL
5 ~ it was not at Chepauk, far away from the Cricket stadium at Nandanam there
were more crowds – mad people spending so much – not for seeing cricketers in
action………….. but the event that
kickstarted the game. IPL was touted to be a
treat of entertainment ~ but they opened the stage with bollywood diva Kareena
Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhudeva, Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan, Colonial
Cousins and Katy Perry. Yes, an American Singer, songwriter and actress -
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson better known by her stage name Katy Perry performed for
IPL at YMCA College of Physical
Education ~ an innovative move to promote and popularize and patronize cricket
!!!

On that eventful day, the glamour quotient was at an all-time high as a
galaxy of stars, led by megastar Amitabh Bachchan, descended at the at the YMCA
College of Physical Education and set the stage on fire with their
performance. Though there were many glam
stars, it appeared that the crowd was not entirely on their feet as the event
was sort of a non-starter. Amitabh, started the proceedings for the
evening with a rendition of a poem 'If I were to be born again', written by
renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi. – the Colonial Cousins Hariharan and Leslie
Lewis did not churn out great
stuff. It was away from Cricket, venue
was also away from the playing arena and the Opening Nite did not quite live up
to the expectations. Salman never a hit
down south. Prabhu deva has courted more
controversies of late and not as flexible as he was in his yesteryears. Katy
Perry dance looked a scene straight from any Telegu movie. Rajeev Shukla, the IPL representative also spoke…………

So what is in store for the great Indian Cricket fan… can you imagine or
do you have an inkling of what you have just missed ! Today’s Daily Mail reports that the Indian
fans are poorer as they could not see J Lo, who has been dropped from
performing in front of 60million people in India; unfair, my friends, that is
not cricket and the drop is over diva’s demands for private plane and hotel rooms for
huge entourage

Daily Mail reports that Jennifer Lopez missed out on performing at the
IPL opening ceremony after her camp demanded her own plane ~ is that she or is
that the Indian fans who have missed out…. The report puts that Jo Lo’s camp demanded she have her own plane. Her
manager Benny Medina reportedly asked organisers to make a private plane
available to the superstar and pay for hotel rooms for her extensive entourage,
including stylists and a personal chef. It is further stated that Pepsi IPL booked
rapper Pitbull after refusing to meet her diva-like demands.

The report quoting NY Post states
: 'She effectively priced herself out of the event. It was an idiotic move
because the audience for this event is huge. It’s like the Super Bowl halftime
show.' A J-Lo representative denied she was dropped by IPL organisers and said
she is not performing at the ceremony on Tuesday because she is too busy.

So 56 million reportedly watched Katy Perry last year; this year they
could not watch Jennifer Lopez in action.
In case, you are not in tune with entertainment World, Katheryn
Elizabeth Hudson is known by her stage name Katy Perry ~ she is an American recording artist, songwriter,
and actress. Jennifer Lynn Muñiz popularly
Jo Lo, is an American actress, dancer, entrepreneur, fashion designer, film
producer, philanthropist and singer.

Away from Cricket, there are reports that Madonna, another entertainer
demands - special fabric, flowers and furniture plus a 200-strong entourage. The
53-year-old singer's rider includes all sorts of extravagant conditions as she
performs her MDNA tour, according to reports. Some reports state that Madonna has some
outrageous demands included on her tour rider including special flowers and
furniture. one version puts it that 'She requires all furniture be removed from
the rooms and replaced with her own pieces that she has shipped in.' It is
claimed the singer demands 20 international phone lines in the room as well as
special white and pink roses that must have the stems cut to six inches. Within
the 200-strong team she is said to have 30 bodyguards, a yoga instructor as
well as personal chefs and an acupuncturist.

Moving further away ~ if you are to ask whose entourage is bigger Jo Lo
or Madonna………… perhaps it is none of them but Barack Obama… yes the celebrity –
it is stated during his recent trip to Israel where his Beast broke down but
had another one flown in replacing it had a 600 person entourage, that occupied
all 233 rooms in King David Hotel. It is
stated that the entourage was even higher when he visited India last

There has to be some Cricket at least in the end…….. IPL much dogged by
crisis of anti-lankan campaign in Tamil Nadu and the fact that matches at
Chepauk will not have Lankan players playing for any IPL side is all set to
begin on April 3rd 2013 with the defending champ Kolkatta Knight Riders
taking on Delhi Daredevils ~ there would
be 72 preliminary matches + 4 culminating in finals on May 26 ~ the event sure
is to attract millions of viewers…. Raipur and Ranchi will make debuts as IPL
host cities in the 2013 edition. Max, the exclusive broadcaster of the Indian
Premier League, is all set to launch its new marketing campaign for Pepsi IPL
2013 titled ‘Sirf Dekhneka Nahi’.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

In early 2012, the Council of the European Union raised its concerns about the growth and nature of Iran's nuclear
programme. As a result, the Council announced that it would levy an embargo on
Iranian oil exports. Back in July 2012 the European Union [EU} imposed
sanctions that prevented all European organisations from dealing with Iranian
institutions. This meant that around 95% of the world’s tanker fleet had to forfeit insurance if they traded Iranian
oil, as most maritime insurers are based in Europe.
Sanctions or restrictive measures (the two terms are used interchangeably) have
been frequently imposed by the EU in recent years, either on an autonomous EU
basis or implementing binding Resolutions of the Security Council of the United
Nations. Sanctions are an instrument of a diplomatic or economic nature which
seek to bring about a change in activities or policies such as violations of
international law or human rights, or policies that do not respect the rule of
law or democratic principles. All 27 EU states signed up for the sanctions. In
addition to the oil embargo, the EU also decided to freeze the assets of the
Iranian central bank, arguing that the aim was to choke off funding for the
nuclear programme.

The new sanctions put restrictions on foreign trade,
financial services, energy sectors and technologies and includes a ban on the
provision of insurance and reinsurance by EU insurers to the State of Iran and
Iranian owned companies. Iran
on its part declared its intentions to close the Strait of
Hormuz should the embargo be enacted. The embargo decision by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels raised the stakes dramatically in the war of wits
between Iran
and the west. The EU decided no further oil contracts could be struck between
the member states and Iran
while existing oil delivery deals would be allowed to run until July. It
impacted many other non EU Nations as well.
The oil embargo represented a leap in the sanctions regime against Iran, following
four earlier rounds of escalating penalties. That also brought to fore the
apprehension of rocketing oil prices at a time when there was extreme economic
difficulty around the globe.

Now months after the industry is agog
with report of the first confirmed visit
to an Iranian port by a Chinese-owned crude oil carrier since the ban. A
Chinese supertanker able to haul 2 million barrels of crude sent a signal from Iran’s largest
export terminal in what may be the first visit of its kind since a European ban
on insuring shipments in July. The Yuan Yang Hu, belonging to state-owned China
Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., the country’s biggest shipping company, was at KhargIsland
on March 21, according to vessel-tracking data from IHS Fairplay, a Redhill,
England-based research company. The ship has since left thePersianGulf,
according to a signal today. The reason behind the Yuan Yang Hu’s visit to Iran has not
yet been revealed officially.

Reports further suggest that Skuld, the
Oslo-based insurance company responsible for providing cover to the Yuan Yang
Hu, the tanker in question which happens to be owned by state-run China Ocean
Shipping Co., has confirmed that the insurance protection will be automatically
invalidated if the ship takes any Iranian oil onboard. “We insure ships on a
yearly basis and do not usually know what particular activity a ship is engaged
in at any one time,” Skuld said in its statement. “In general we only become
aware of a particular ship’s location and cargo if there is an incident giving
rise to a claim. An owner is not obliged to inform Skuld about the trade he is
conducting with the vessel.” “Our insurance conditions contain a provision that
cover is automatically excluded if providing cover or paying a claim may expose
Skuld to the risk of sanctions,” Skuld said. “While we cannot comment on a
particular member, we are very much aware of the EU restrictions on the
provision of insurance,” Skuld said. “Compliance is of the utmost importance to
us. We would point out that the operation of the exclusion is automatic – the
exclusion will apply without us being required to give notice to owners.”

China has always been clear that it
will not be subjected to the West’s Sanctions against Iran, with Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei,
stating that, “China
maintains normal and transparent energy cooperation with Iran in
accordance with its own energy requirements. We obviously oppose some country
imposing sanctions against another country according to their own domestic
laws.” However, even PeoplesRepublic cannot transport
oil without insurance. There was some speculation that they might decide to
offer their own tankers some form of insurance cover, but that never occurred. There
was speculation before and after the ban that the Chinese government would
directly insure the cargoes or that the nation’s owners would seek alternative
insurance.

A leopard cannot change its spots,
nor can a tiger change its stripes ~ is an old adage. [meaning the basic traits
do not change]

This man was at the helm for long, from Army
to the politics and after resignation went to perform a holy pilgrimage to Mecca. He then went on a
lucrative speaking and lectureship tour through the Middle East, Europe, and United States. He reportedly was a highly paid keynote speaker;
in 2011, he also lectured at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on politics and racism.

A couple of days ago, he returned to his own
State after a four-year self imposed
exile, despite the life threats from Taliban & Talal Bugti. A recent
Taliban video threatened to eliminate him with snipers and suicide bombers. He landed on JinnahInternationalAirport,
Karachi via a
chartered Emirates flight with Pakistani journalists and foreign news
correspondents. Hundreds of his
supporters and workers of APML were at Karachi
airport welcoming him. He also delivered a short and emotional public speech at
outside the lounge of airport. He faces a string of charges including conspiracy
to murder, but on Friday the Pakistani authorities granted him protective bail
in several outstanding cases, freeing him from immediate arrest once he sets
foot in Pakistan
~ that is Genl. Pervez Mushraff.

Pervez Musharraf, is a retired four-star general and a
politician who served as the tenth President of Pakistan from 2001 until 2008.
Prior to that, he was the 13th Chief of Army Staff from October 1998. Commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 1964,
Musharraf rose to national prominence after being appointed a four-star general
in October 1998 by then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Musharraf was the
mastermind and strategic field commander behind the highly controversial and
internationally condemned Kargil infiltration, which derailed peace
negotiations with India.
Previously, Musharraf played a vital role in the Afghan civil war, both
assisting the peace negotiations and attempting to end the bloodshed in the
country. After months of contentious relations with Prime Minister Sharif,
Musharraf was brought to power through a military coup d'état in 1999,
subsequently placing the Prime minister under a strict house-arrest before
moving him to Adiala Jail in Punjab Province.

The former military ruler of Pakistan,
General (retd.)Pervez Musharraf, immediately on returning to Pakistan
thundered that he was “proud” of the Kargil operation and blamed the political
class for squandering away a military victory. At a press conference in Karachi — his first since
returning from self-imposed exile on Sunday — he asserted that “a military
victory was turned into a political defeat.”

Gen. Musharraf’s defence of the Kargil
operation drew flak instantly from within Pakistan and elsewhere on the
social media. At the same time, some Pakistanis sought to drive home the point
that Indians held the former Army chief in greater esteem that his own fellow
nationals. The kind of media coverage his return got in India, and the
frequency with which he appears on Indian television channels and gets invited
to conclaves organised by the media across the border has raised eyebrows in
Pakistan often enough, particularly since Pakistani peace activists and players
have been shown the door in India.

Some local media drew reference stating that he
is simply hoping he will be luckier than Benazir Bhutto, another former
president. Bhutto, head of the Pakistan
Peoples’ Party, was assassinated while campaigning in Rawalpindi. She was gunned down in December
2007, barely two months after she landed at Karachi airport following an eight-year
absence. No one was ever convicted of killing her, though Taliban sympathizers
were suspected. Ironically, it was the Musharraf government that was blamed for
failing to provide adequate security.

The General is hoping to start a new party and
run for parliament. The army is demanding the government provide what it terms
“robust security.” Apparently, he is entitled to it as a former military man. Whether
he gets elected or not is Pakistan’s destiny ~ but he has started India bashing
as a route to becoming popular does not augur well for India which has made
honest attempts in bridging peace but now finds itself distanced by the
tiny-dot Srilanka as well.

“Bazooka ..’ ~ is a shoulder-held weapon
consisting of a long metal smoothbore tube for firing armor-piercing rockets at
short range. It reportedly is named so
after a crude wind instrument made of pipes. The bazooka consists of a hollow
tube open at the breech.

Perhaps you might think of ‘googling’ on this
and might find your computer not responding as fast as you want it to. There are reports quoting security experts that
the Internet may have been slowed by one of the largest cyber attacks ever
seen, which targeted a European group that patrols the Web for spam. The
attacks targeted Spamhaus, a Geneva-based volunteer group that publishes spam
blacklists which are used by networks to filter out unwanted email, and led to
cyberspace congestion which may have affected the overall Internet. The attacks began last week, according to
Spamhaus, after it placed on its blacklist the Dutch-based Web hosting site
Cyberbunker, which claimed it was unfairly labeled as a haven for cybercrime
and spam.

So the news is that the internet around the
world has been slowed down in what security experts are describing as the
biggest cyber-attack of its kind in history. There are apprehensions that this
could have an impact on popular services
- and experts worry it could escalate to affect banking and email systems. Five
national cyber-police-forces are investigating the attacks.

The Spamhaus Project is an international nonprofit
organization whose mission is to track the Internet's spam operations and
sources, to provide dependable realtime anti-spam protection for Internet
networks, to work with Law Enforcement Agencies to identify and pursue spam
gangs worldwide, and to lobby governments for effective anti-spam legislation. Founded
in 1998, Spamhaus is based in Geneva, Switzerland and London, UK
and is run by a dedicated team of 38 investigators and forensics specialists
located in 10 countries. Spamhaus maintains a number of realtime spam-blocking
databases ('DNSBLs') responsible for keeping back the vast majority of spam
sent out on the Internet. The Spamhaus Block List ("SBL") Advisory is
a database of IP addresses from which Spamhaus does not recommend the
acceptance of electronic mail.

To filter out spam and keep unwanted content
out, the group maintains a number of blocklists - a database of servers known
to be being used for malicious purposes. Recently, Spamhaus blocked servers
maintained by Cyberbunker, a Dutch web host which states it will host anything
with the exception of child pornography or terrorism-related material. Cyberbunker feels that Spamhaus was abusing
its position, and should not be allowed to decide "what goes and does not
go on the internet". Spamhaus has alleged that Cyberbunker, in cooperation
with "criminal gangs" from Eastern Europe and Russia, is behind the attack.

It is stated that the attackers have used a
tactic known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), which floods the intended
target with large amounts of traffic in an attempt to render it unreachable. In
this case, Spamhaus's Domain Name System (DNS) servers were targeted - the
infrastructure that joins domain names, the website's numerical internet protocol
address. It is stated that such attack
could keep the target completely away from the internet.

To understand it better, if you imagine a
motorway, the spam attacks try and put more traffic on the way and clog up the
entire system so that nothing moves. The attacks typically happened in
intermittent bursts of high activity. We
need not be unduly worried as, as of now those in Europe are reportedly more
sluggish ~ same analogy – when there is traffic jam in autobahn, those driving
in Chennai or Delhi
do not worry of their way…….

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The big bash extravaganza incidentally
the game of Cricket – IPL 2013 is set to begin on Apr 3 with the defending
champ Kolkatta Knight Riders taking on Delhi Daredevils ~ 72 preliminary
matches + 4 culminating in finals on May 26 ~ the event sure is to attract millions
of viewers…. Raipur and Ranchi will make debuts as IPL host cities in
the 2013 edition.

Max, the exclusive broadcaster of the
Indian Premier League, is all set to launch its new marketing campaign for
Pepsi IPL 2013 titled ‘Sirf Dekhneka Nahi’. The campaign comes from the insight
that cricket is not just a game in this country but a passion that moves every
Indian to get up to celebrate and dance and there is news that BCCI’s million-dollar tournament Indian
Premier League (IPL), broadcasters are finding it tough to find advertisers for
the tournament. According to news in
press the advertising slot rates have gone down to as less as Rs 4-4.5 lakh for
per ten seconds decreasing by close to 20%...

IPL – Cricket & Politics are not away
~ this time, much has been happening even before the first ball is delivered. South Africa allrounder Wayne
Parnell's participation in IPL 2013 is in no doubt, according to his franchise
Pune Warriors, despite him being one of 35 "wanted" foreign nationals
for allegedly testing positive for recreational drugs following a police raid
on a party in Mumbai last year. Parnell's IPL team-mate, Punjabi legspinner
Rahul Sharma, who had also reportedly consumed drugs at the party, is also
"supposed to join the squad as per schedule", Parnell and Sharma were
among 90 people detained following the party at a hotel in the Juhu suburb of
Mumbai on May 20 last year, a day after Pune Warriors' IPL 2012 campaign ended.

In IPL there is no place for Pakistan after
26/11 but that applies only for Pak players ~ not for commentators, match
officials and coaches. Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler, is to join Sunrisers Hyderabad as a bowling consultant
for the 2013 IPL season.

With so much of political tension in
Tamilnadu, it had its impact on IPL too. During the test against Australia the presence of Kumara Dharmasena was
questioned in some quarters now it is of the participation of Sri Lanka players in IPL. The political fallout of the issue has led to
the DMK, a Tamil Nadu-based party, pulling its ministers out of the federal
coalition government in New Delhi
and threatening its future. There have been at least two reported attacks on
Sri Lankan tourists in Tamil Nadu in the past few days and Sri Lanka's foreign
ministry has asked its nationals visiting Tamil Nadu to exercise caution. The
fear is that the controversy will snowball and put players at risk. It is official now, matches in Chennai will not
feature any Sri Lankan cricketers or match officials, the league's governing
council said after a meeting on Tuesday. It said the decision was taken keeping
in mind security concerns in Chennai.

Meantime, the State CM has written to PM
in unequivocal terms that in a hostile and tense environment, the participation
of lankan players will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further
offend the sentiments of the people." N Srinivasan,
the BCCI president, has said the concerns surrounding the participation of Sri
Lankan players in the IPL was an "operational issue" and would be
handled accordingly. The lankan players
in the fray are :

Tamilnadu is seeing students agitations
and more over the genocide and calling for action against Mahinda Rajapaksa. Recently, Tamil Nadu chief minister J
Jayalalithaa urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to boycott the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and the attendant Leaders' Retreat,
scheduled to be held in Colombo this November, to demand action on Sri Lanka. As
a nation aspiring for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, India has a
duty to uphold the values of democracy and human rights, particularly in its
immediate neighbourhood, Jayalalithaa said.

In the tense situation prevailing, students
who took part in the protests to seek justice for victims of alleged war crimes
in Sri Lanka
said they did not want anything to do with anybody from the island nation,
including cricket players, given the current situation. Many hold the view that
if cricket bodies all over the world could boycott South Africa for practising
apartheid, obviously there is nothing wrong with Jayalalithaa refusing
permission to Sri Lankan cricketers playing in Chennai.

Three seasons ago at the time of the
Telangana agitation, despite the Andhra Pradesh government promising full
security, then IPL commissioner Lalit Modi unilaterally shifted all IPL matches
out of Hyderabad.
The rest of India
may not see this in the same way Tamil Nadu sees; the political parties have no
way out than target the IPL as parties vie to pitch themselves to be the
champions of Tamil cause.

Most of us are unlikely to have heard of - Giuliomaria Terzi di Sant'Agata , also known as
Giulio Terzi ~ he is in news connected to Enrica Lexie. If you had thought that the news has died down
with the return of two Italian Marines Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone,
that is not to be. The Delhi High Court has now set up a special court for trial of the two
Italian marines accused of killing two Kerala fishermen. The Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate (CMM) of Patiala House court will hold trial of the two Italian
marines, high court sources said.

Giulio Terzi is the Italian Foreign Minister and he is news
as he has resigned in protest of his
government's decision to send two Italian marines, accused of killing two
Indian fishermen, to Delhi for trial. He is quoted as telling Italian MPs, "My
reservations about sending the marines back to India were not listened to." Mr
Terzi said he was resigning because his voice had gone "unheard" by
Prime Minister Monti and his caretaker administration and that he can no longer
be part of the government. Prime
Minister Mario Monti said he was "astonished" by the decision. He is
due to speak in parliament on Wednesday.
The 66 year old Minister is quoted as stating "I am resigning
because I have maintained for 40 years and I maintain more forcefully today
that the honour of the country, its armed forces and the Italian diplomacy must
be safeguarded. I am resigning because I support the two marines and their
families." There was to be more dissonance with Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola stating
that he would not step down over the crisis because he did not want to
"abandon a ship in difficulty".

The marines, Massimiliano Latore and Salvatore Girone, returned
accompanied by Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Steffan de Mistura in a military
plane, after the dramatic u-turn by the Italian government, which had earlier
said the two marines would not be sent back.
Italy then said that there has to
be diplomatic assurance that the soldiers won’t face death penalty. Back home, External
Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had said that no deal has been worked out with
Italy for bringing back the
marines but the government had “clarified” to authorities in Rome that the case does not entitle death
penalty.

All deaths are not the same ~ the Marine on board Enrica
Lexie killed fishermen while the death of Anandan at Chennai is reportedly an
accident arising out of negligence……… TOI
repors that 2 German sailors have been held for mid-sea collision. The collision
with reported involvement of MV Grietji is getting murkier with the city
police arresting two German sailors on 26.3.13. They were later let off on bail
on the condition that they should not leave the city. Anandan, 45, a fisherman
from Kasimedu drowned, and two of his friends were rescued after a ship rammed
their boat. The Coast Guard and the mercantile marine department soon zeroed in
on MV Grietj, flying the Antigua Barbuda flag, as the vessel which passed by,
around 10 nautical miles (18.5km) off the Chennai coast, at the time of the
accident. A police officer confirmed
the arrest of Albrecht Wolsgang (46), captain of the vessel, and Steffen
Hinksoth (38), second officer. They have been charged under Section 304(A)
(causing death due to negligence). The two seamen are from Munich, Germany.

A magistrate court in the city, where they were produced,
directed them to surrender their passports and stay at the Seafarers Club at
the Chennai port until further orders. Sources said an underwater inspection of
the vessel at Chennai port had not yielded any visible evidence of a collision,
but there was circumstantial evidence to arrest the seamen. International
maritime conventions empower the local police to initiate legal action against
a ship involved in an accident within 12 nautical miles (22km) from the shore.
Local investigators have been insisting that the incident happened within this
range. Elaborating on the ‘circumstantial evidence,’ a mercantile marine
department official said MV Grietj was the only vessel that was in the vicinity
of the region at the time of the incident. “Moreover, the vessel’s VDR (voyage data
recorder, which is like the black box in a plane), which should have recorded
details of the ship’s movement and any incident, was not working. This could
mean that it had a mechanical fault or it was tampered with,” the official
said. According to the earlier
statements of two fishermen, Viji, 35, and Santhosh, 19, who were rescued by
another fishing boat, their boat had developed a snag mid-sea and they saw a
ship at a distance.

The ship’s owners had reportedly agreed to pay compensation
to Anandan’s family, but refused to take responsibility for the accident. Captain Albrecht Wolsgang and second officer
Steffen Hinksoth have been asked to surrender their passports and not to leave
the city

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

27th Mar 2013

PS: the news about MV
Griegj reproduced from Times of India, Chennai Edition.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

At the outset, I am a firm believer that Cinema is only
entertainment and nothing beyond….my knowledge of Hindi Cinema is too
microscopic and I cannot identify most of the heroines….. !! but am
simply unable to understand why there is so much clamour on a sentence…… which
every newspaper reports to be rather mild, still talks of pardon beyond the
purview of law….is an actor so important for the Nation ? or is it that am
unable to understand something rudimentary.
My father taught me that one should never exploit or enjoy the
difficulty of others….

I have not followed this earlier but now upon reading the
scenario understood by me is : a case of conviction of a person for illegal
possession of an assault weapon, an AK-56 rifle, is upheld by the Supreme Court.
The weapon is part of a larger consignment that will be used to carry out the
deadliest terrorist attacks on that country's financial capital. The convict
has also met, hugged and had phone conversations with the masterminds of this
terror conspiracy - men whose name repeatedly figure in the infamous "most
wanted" lists. In the past, he has also illegally possessed a pistol.
Along with him, about 100 others are found guilty. But there is a powerful
political and societal lobby that sympathises with him and pushes for his
pardon, arguing that his punishment is too severe.

In short, this is the story of a convicted criminal named
Sanjay Dutt. That he happens to be an actor in India's
powerful Hindi film industry called Bollywood, that his parents, too, were in
the same profession and were honest and sincere social workers, and that his
father and sister were and are members of India's Parliament are all
secondary factors and should be of little importance. Perhaps you all know
Sanjay Dutt better ~ read that Sanjay Dutt, son of film actors Sunil Dutt and
Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981. He has since featured in films that
are amongst some of the most popular Hindi language films of the past three
decades.

On 21 March 2013, Supreme Court of India convicted Sunjay
Dutt in the illegal possession of arms relating to the 1993 Mumbai blastscase
and sentenced him to 5 years imprisonment. Earlier he had been sentenced to 6
years imprisonment by a TADA court. He has been ordered to surrender within four
weeks from 21 March 2013 when the judgement was given. Most Press stated that
Dutt was let off under the more stringent Terrorism and Disruptive Activities
(Prevention) Act, and was convicted under the Arms Act for illegal possession
of guns.

From that time, prominent time in media has been arguing
on the pardon to Dutt and there is news that the Governor of Maharashtra is
reportedly set to consult the state government on the possibility of granting a
pardon. The report further states that
the Governor has been beset by appeals
from a number of prominent personalities, asking him to pardon the actor.

Chairman of Press Council of India, Justice Katju, wrote a
letter to Governor of Maharashtra, asking him to consider a pardon for a number
of reasons, including the fact that he was not a terrorist, and that his
parents had done a lot of social work. He
is not alone in the clamour as there are Jaya Prada, Congress leader Digvijaya
Singh, actor Rajinikanth and even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking
that he be pardoned.

Every newsitem try to mention that there are projects
estimated at Rs 100 crore riding on him; does that or should that impact any
punishment is not written in the same breathe. Digvijay singh has made many
controversial statements had he feels that Dutt should be pardoned. Justice Katju lists out various reasons such
as : Sanjay has suffered a lot; he underwent tribulations and indignities; he had to go to court often; he is married and
has 2 small kids…

What happened to the victims of bomb blasts – did they
enjoy their life or have other persons who have had to loiter in the court
verandahs allowed to earn when on bail. When
asked my friend stated that under TADA, at the point of time, possessing an
illegal weapon in a notified area - which Mumbai was - automatically attracted
the stringent act. Hence, he was booked and tried for terror charges just like
the others. Lawyers are surprised that he was let off by the courts on this
count.

One of the outrageous reasons seeking pardon that he
through film revived the memory of Mahatma Gandhi and the message of Gandhiji,
the father of the nation. By the same token, will Sanjay or for that matter any
actor be tried for playing shady roles of criminals and articulating underworld
and mafia dons…. If there is a legal
provision of the power of pardon by the Governor, should that be exercised for
these reasons ! and can any such action single out an individual for favourable
treatment solely on the basis of his popularity. If accepted, the demand would
entrench the belief that the country has two parallel systems of justice — one
for the privileged and another for the rest. The Kalashnikov was not a toy and was not bought
in any mall but came through underworld
gangs and was linked to the consignment of explosives used to perpetrate the
Mumbai serial blasts, though Dutt may not have known that !!

The arms landed at two places in Raigad district and one
in Gujarat. The Gujarat
consignment was hidden in the cavity of a vehicle and brought to Mumbai by
road, driven by Abu Salem, who went on to become a prominent gangster. On 12th Mar 1993 there were
coordinated attacks in Bombay
and explosions killed over 250 and maimed more hundreds ~ making their lives
miserable. Supreme Court of India gave
its judgement on 21st March 2013 after over 20 years of judicial
proceedings. The two main accused in the case Dawood Ibrahim and
Tiger Memon have not yet been arrested and not tried.

People are entitled to their opinion but still… should popularity
override punishment !

Some consider travel by train very interesting ~ Indian
Railway criss-crosses the entire Nation and some of its journeys stretch beyond
two days…….. from its inaugural run from
Bombay to Thane
in 1853, Indian Railways has come a very long way. Now
here is something on a train whose travel time is : 48h-35m; has 29 halts;
covers a distance of 2453 km running at an average speed of 50 km/hr… it
connects Barmar to Guwahati…..

Barmer is located in the western part of Rajasthan, forming
a part of the Thar Desert. The district is
surrounded by Jaisalmer, Jalore, Pali and Jodhpur
districts and Pakistan in the west. Like all other districts in the desert region,
Barmer is known for its folk music and dance. The Bhopas (priest singers) are
found in Barmer, who compose music in honour of the deities of the region and
its war heroes. The name Barmer is
derived from the ruler Bahada Rao Parmar (Panwar) or Bar Rao Parmar (Panwar)
who is said to have founded the town in the 13th century, when it was named
Bahadamer (“The Hill Fort of Bahada”). Barmer
is famous for its carved wooden furniture and hand block printing industry. In the recent past, it has gained prominence
due to the operations of Cairn Energy and the large oil basin. It also has Uttarlai military airbase, which
is the Nation’s first under ground airbase.

It is news for different reasons ~ reports state that a major
tragedy was averted when all the 13 coaches of Barmer-Guwahati Express without
engine travelled a distance of about 20 km on track's downward slope from
Barmer railway station and stopped only after crossing six level-crossings on
Sunday night. Yes, the train ran backwards and without an engine…. !!!

photos and news courtesy : www.dailymail.co.uk

Reports state that the train was put on the platform in
shunting mode much ahead of its scheduled departure of 11 pm when its coaches
got released at around 9 pm. Though railway authorities had no idea of number
of passengers in the engine-less train but according to Barmer station staff
and local journalists around 400-500 passengers were onboard who had occupied
seats during shunting. The passengers initially failed to comprehend the
situation. However as the train assumed speed of around 40-45 km per hour they
got alarmed. Some of them pulled the chain to stop it, but in vain. Upon being alerted, crude attempts were made
to stop the train without engine by putting stones and sand on the track. It,
however, failed miserably, pointed out Barmer station staff.

As the arrival of Kalka-Barmer Chandigarh express had
neared the track of the running coaches was changed. The coaches finally
stopped after travelling around 20 km. Ultimately, coaches were brought back by
sending the train's engine and train could leave about 20 minutes behind
schedule.

Really surprising that a train [Barmer-Guwahati Express]
could break free and hurtle backwards at
great speed. Fortunately, this did not
cause any mishap, but has triggered a major safety scare for the passengers as
the Kalka-Barmer Chandigarh Express was coming from opposite direction at the
same time.

The Barmar Guawahti Express running for 2 days is no way
closer to the longest running train in terms of time… earlier it was Himsagar
Express running 3715 km. From Nov. 2011, India’s
longest running train is ‘Vivek Express’ running from Dibrugarh in Assam to
Kanyakumari, in Tamil Nadu. The train
covers 4,286 km in 82.30 hours

Monday, March 25, 2013

Insurers rate their products based on risk perception ~
the physical features of a risk are most relevant….. there are pockets of
potential hazards where fire-fighting or reaching out to the fire is too
difficult, it is not these are far away ~ you can find them in your own
locality, in your neighbourhood… but do we really seem to care ? An Insurance Policy would at best provide
financial reimbursement, but there are more that arise out of a loss ~ the loss
of business, the injury / death of humans and more……..

A visitor to Delhi
would no doubt visit this place and be overawed but he locality. The area is instantly recognizable on any map
of Delhi, being
the big circle in the middle with radial roads spreading out in all directions,
like spokes on a wheel. Eight separate roads lead out from its inner circle,
named Parliament Street
and Radial Roads 1 through 7. Twelve different roads lead out from the outer
ring; the most well-known of these is Janpath. Its central park has long been a
venue for cultural events. As is with many modern day landmarks, prior to it's construction the area was a ridge,
covered with kikar trees inhabited by jackals and wild pigs.

No prizes for guessing ~ it is the Connaught Place; the regal station of Rajiv Chowk where you have
the option to interchange for the Yellow and Blue lines of Metro rail. Robert Tor Russell, chief architect to the
Public Works Department(PWD), Government of India is credited with its design. It was named after The Prince Arthur, 1st
Duke of Connaught (1850–1942), third son of Queen Victoria.
Connaught Place
is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centers in Delhi.

A fire blazed in shop in the heart of Delhi and Daily Mail reports that the blaze
exposes fire risks ~ not exactly of its physical traits but from the
surroundings - from squatters and
illegal parking. The report states that firemen raced against time on Sunday
afternoon as illegally parked cars and a row of generator sets prevented them
from taking a direct route to a chemist's shop that was in flames in Connaught Place.
The obstructions forced them to take a longer way, wasting vital time and
causing more damage to the shop. By good luck, the fire did not spread to other shops.
However, things could very easily have got out of hand.

A Mail Today survey has revealed how automobile workshops,
welders, scrap dealers, tens of small establishments and illegally parked
vehicles have eaten into the posh market place, with disastrous consequences
like those on Sunday. Usually, civic
officials have turned a blind eye to this. Details of the encroachments were
first brought to the notice of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) by the
Supreme Court-appointed Bhure Lal committee a few months ago. The panel had
directed the municipal body to prepare a report on all the illegal
encroachments in Connaught Place
along with an action plan to remove them.

"Encroachment on public land is unacceptable and
whenever we get reports about them, we'll inspect the area and if necessary take
action," said an NDMC spokesperson. Officials say that 27 establishments
were identified in Connaught Place's
A and G blocks. Encroachments in these areas were mostly found to be extended
sheds, air-conditioning units and enclosures that were used as store
rooms. Following the inspection, notices
were given to the establishments in October last year, of which only 11 were
complied with. Even though NDMC officials have carried out minor demolition
work in the area, Connaught Place
has still not been rid of the encroachments and clogged pathways. Senior NDMC
officials claim that removing encroachments in Connaught Place is not easy. Some shop
owners, who have been sent notices, claim their disputed property to be older
than 50 years, for which NDMC has no building records.

Encroachment between the blocks is not the only type of
illegal occupation of land in Connaught
Place. Hundreds of squatters are seen selling
clothes, vegetables and handicrafts on the corridors of CP and in the lane
outside Palika Bazaar underground parking. There is evidently much to be saved from
illegally occupying space in one of the most expensive commercial spaces in the
world - the fourth highest, according to one survey. The occupancy cost in Connaught Place is Rs 8,804 per square
foot, compared to Rs 8,478 per square foot in Tokyo's central business district, according
to an annual survey released recently by global real estate service firm
Cushman & Wakefield. The equivalent cost in New York City's Midtown, is Rs 7,002.

This time the fire was not devastating and was
brought under control – but there are potent risks waiting to explode… the onus
is on the authorities to take timely action and on us to ensure that there is
cooperation on all fronts.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

The fire and hazard part is almost entirely reproduced
from the Daily Mail UK. Fire damage photos also courtesy www.dailymail.co.uk

The ignominy is complete; another Test ending
in 3 days… honestly, when the set target was 155, it did send some shivers in
my mind reminiscing the same target of Chennai
on 22nd Mar 2001…..and another knowledgeable cricket fan shared similar
sentiments in the evening.

The dust having settled, it is now easier to
talk of the revenge, the whitewash, the strategy, Aussie’s incapacity to play
spin et.al, ~ sure India’s best Series
victory in 81 years has lots behind it.
At the outset, Aussies were talking more of Ashes and the antics like
‘homeworkgate’ did not work… Not since the summer of 1978/79 had an Australian
team been thrashed by such a margin when Graham Yallop's side was beaten 5-1 by
England in the middle of the World Series Cricket era – when many of the
country's best players were banned.It is also the first 4-0 defeat since Bill
Lawry's men were annihilated by South Africa in 1969/70.

Australia tried to surprise India by
opening with Glenn Maxwell alongside David Warner. Maxwell opened the bowling
too. Ferozshah Kotla was not exactly a dust bowl; Nathan Lyon who went for runs
at Chepauk and was dropped for Hyderabad; took career-best figures of 7-94 and
claimed nine wickets for the match, including Sachin Tendulkar for a fourth
time – a record for an Australian spinner. Their lower order made runs
regularly, Peter Siddle made runs; last match it was Starc who got out
tantalizing close to a ton.

India secured a six wicket
victory, propelled by Cheteshwar Pujara (82 not out) but it was not as simple
as the scoreline would suggest. At the start of the series MS Dhoni was under
the hammer for being the first Indian captain in 28 years to lose a home series
to England, that too after
being blanked out on away series in England
and Australia.
Now it is Dhoni’s time to toss a few hammers towards the written press, but he
said using the word revenge was all too "confusing." The disadvantage
of having lost the toss in all four Tests meant that India had to bat last in three of
the four Tests, but had done enough with the ball in the third innings to keep
the target down to reasonable numbers. The Delhi Test may have ended inside
three days, but it was here that India had to chase their highest
target of the series, 155 runs, on the most treacherous wicket of the four
Tests. In the process, Duncan Fletcher
has had an extention for doing nothing in shaping the players.

Murali Vijay denied himself the chance of
partying after such a successful series by playing an uncharacteristic reverse
sweep, getting bowled. Sachin provided
more ammunition to his uncharitable critics that he never finishes, by getting
out towards the end ~ it was Ajinkya Rahana, seemingly good test material; made
runs in ODI and somehow made some in T20 too – miffed with the classic choice –
incidentally, it is almost a decade or so since a batsman from Mumbai made his
debut ~ remember, Mumbai has produced the best of the batsmen : from Vijay
Merchant to Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar – and in between many many like
Vengsarkar, Manjrekars, Ravi Shastri,
and more.

Not sure how you all view this…..Ishant Sharma
was fined 15% of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. It was a penalty as per Article 2.1.6 of the ICC Code of Conduct,
"which relates to pointing or gesturing towards the pavilion by a bowler
or a fielder upon the dismissal of a batsman in an International Match." ~
and is that singular or are we not seeing such gestures these days on the
field………. Or is that when Aussies does
it is their way of aggression. On the second day, Australia opener David Warner was
involved in a verbal altercation with Ravindra Jadeja, who asked the umpires to
intervene and they subsequently called on captain Shane Watson to speak to
Warner. Warner had reacted, seemingly, in response to the Indian batsmen
running through the middle of the pitch while going for a couple.

So, a great time, a history of sorts of
winning 4 tests in a Series. Now getting
back to that 155 target in the 4th innings in that test no. 1539 at
Chepauk in Mar 2001 – Aussies batted first; Slater fell early – Aussies made
326/3 on day 1 with Hayden blazing with a century. They were eventually all out for 391; Hayden
making 203. Harbhajan took 7 for 133. In
that test Samir Dighe and Sairaj Bahutule made their debuts adding to the strong Bombay contingent of Sachin, Zahir and Nilesh
KUlkarni.

India made 501 with all top
order contributing and Sachin making a grand 126. In the 2ndAustralia were
all out for 264 – setting 155. Harbhajan dazzled with 8 for 84. On day 5 when we gathered in the early
morning, Oz were ahead by 131 with 3 wickets in hand… and we were fearing the
outcome ~ whether Indians could make the seemingly small but difficult target. Jason Gillesspee, Glenn Mcgrath, colin Miller
and Shane Warne ~ the attack looked awesome.

Sadagopan Ramesh opened with SS Das and made
some delectable shots. When Ramesh was
run out if was 76/2 after 19.3 overs; suddenly pressure built up ~ it was 122-5
[Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid gone] Laxman batted beautifully making 66 and when he
was out it was 135 and in the same over Miller removed Bahutule too…. 20 to go
– 3 wickets in hands, seemed dicey. Sameer Dighe the debutant was solid and
Harbhajan scored the winning runs which was a great relief to all of us present
in the stadium and those watching on TV.
The last session was so tense, that all results were possible – people
did not speak to the other; some did not change their seats, some smoked, some
were baiting their nails.. as it ended Indian way.

This time the same score; the end was not as
tense !!! ~ that laidback left handed Sadagopan Ramesh went on to play some
more matches, never fulfilled his potential then was seen on silverscreen……….
Yes acting in films.

The man who made some pristine drives off
Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, made a small appearance in ‘Santosh Subramaniam’;
in a comedy show in TV as Judge and then
had a major role in ‘Potta potti’…….. it
was a cinema of two Kodaivannan and
Kolaivannan, of a remote village decide to marry a rich girl. To win the girl
they had to win a match; the ‘good’
hearted Kodaivannan’s team kidnaps the real cricketer, Sadagoppan Ramesh, while
he was on his way to Thekkady.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Can you group : Júlio Baptista, Mark Creighton, Jimmie
Foxx, Max Mirnyi, Brock Edward Lesner, Dan Severn, Daigo Umehara, Manu Vatuvei, Calvin Abueva &……………. Maruti follows a certain
pattern… they have Swift Dezire – LXI,
VXI & ZXI ~ lower facility to fully loaded; similarly they have LDI,
VDI, ZDI… ; the same pattern appears in other models also. Those with X are petrol versions and D or
Diesel versions………. most people put a sticker on their petrol tanks; yet at the
Petrol bunk, one hurriedly tends to get down and tell the operator that it is
only a petrol car and petrol needs to be filled in.

In terrestrial zoology,
megafauna refers to large or giant
animals. The most common thresholds used are 45 kilograms (100 lb) or 100
kilograms (220 lb). This thus includes many species not popularly thought of as
overly large, such as white-tailed deer and red kangaroo, and even humans. The
land animals that we think as big and beastly are Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos,
rhinos and the like…

Putting the wrong fuel in
our cars could occur simply by mistake ~ it can cause terrific trouble and the
most basic piece of advice to give or remember is, do not switch on your
ignition. The further the fuel is pumped into the engine the more expensive the
repair will be. First petrol in a Diesel engine : the
first engine component to be damaged will be the fuel pump. Diesel fuel
pumps require more lubrication than a petrol pump. The diesel pumps are
lubricated by the diesel fuel itself, when petrol is mixed with diesel it acts
like a solvent and this reduces lubrication. The overall effect is that the
metal components of the pump will rub together causing the parts to wear and
become damaged very quickly. Other parts of the pump such as seals may also be
damaged due to the incompatibility with petrol. More troublesome could be
filling diesel to a petrol engine vehicle.
Unlike petrol, diesel fuel
doesn't evaporate. The fuel injectors in
your engine would inject the diesel fuel into the engine's cylinders. The spark
plugs would fire, but nothing would happen after that. Because the diesel fuel
doesn't evaporate very well, the spark plugs would have nothing to ignite, and
the engine would never start.

When Govt heads visit
other countries, lot of preparatory work and lot of intelligence work takes
place. Nothing is left to chance ~ most
Head of the States travel in their own vehicle and their limousines travel by
air preceding them. In US, the Presidential state car is the official state
car used by the President of the United States. A variety of vehicles have both
officially and unofficially been acknowledged as the presidential vehicle. The most recent vehicle to be customized as
the presidential car is a Chevrolet Kodiak-based, Cadillac-badged limousine
often referred to as Cadillac One as
also ‘The Beast’.

US President Barack Obama
is on his historical trip to Israel ~ the whole World is closely observing the
development, hearing the speech of the leader and following them. During the meticulously planned trip, can you
imagine, the US President's $1.5m 'Beast' breaking down and had to be towed away in a recovery vehicle………… and can
you imagine the reason !!!

Daily Mail and other
papers report that President Barack Obama's historic visit to Israel had an
embarrassing setback when his armored limo broke down on the way to the
airport. The custom General Motors
Cadillac limo was relegated to a pick up truck
because the driver had accidentally
put gas in the tank instead of diesel. The 18-foot car has an tank that holds
6.5 liters of diesel, and does not work when given gas. Following that silly mistake, the President
was forced to use the second vehicle that they brought over from the U.S.

President Obama arrived in
Israel on 20th Mar 2013 for his first official trip to the region as President
and his car could not ferry him from the airport. The car itself had to be put on the back of a
flatbed truck. The United States Secret Service put out a statement about the
incident, saying that it was a situation where it pays for them to be
prepared. 'One of our protective
vehicles experienced mechanical problems in Israel earlier today. This is why
we bring multiple vehicles and a mechanic on all trips,' said Edwin Donovan, a
spokesman for the Secret Service.

President Obama however
continued his trip with his first stop
at Israeli President Shimon Peres' house, and after planting a ceremonial tree
and giving brief scripted remarks, he drove off in an armored limo. The 18-foot Cadillac limo is made with
military-grade armor that is at least five-inches thick and developed out of a
combination of steel, aluminum, titanium and ceramic. It comes equipped to take on almost anything,
as it is armed with its own tear gas cannons, pump-action shotguns. The most unusual accessory in this
seven-person vehicle is the on board bottles of the President's blood in case
he needs a transfusion on the road.

According to reports the President has a 600-person entourage, and
they l occupy all 233 rooms in the King David Hotel during their stay. Israel is looking for the United States to
take a firm stance against Iran and their fledgling nuclear program as it is
seen as the biggest threat to the Jewish state. In what is Mr Obama's first
trip to Israel as President, he is expected to reassure America's top ally in the
region that the country is still high on his agenda, and a number of public
events are supposed to help reassure a nervous Israeli public. Mr Obama will
finish his Middle East trip with a 24-hour stop in Jordan, an important US
ally, where his focus will be on the violence in Syria.

Now getting back to
putting wrong fuel, some automobile experts say that in foreign countries –
this may not easily happen in cars manufactured in the last 25 years or so
as there's a plate under the gas cap
that prevents anything but the small unleaded-gasoline nozzle from fitting into
the tank. When unleaded gasoline first appeared, this plate helped to prevent
drivers from putting the leaded gasoline nozzle in -- the unleaded and leaded
nozzles were different sizes. The diesel nozzle is even bigger than leaded
nozzles were, so it would never fit in the gas tank of most cars. Not sure, how the position is in Indian
cars.

In case you still remember and want to know the
grouping of those named in the first para ~ they are all nicknamed ‘the beast’.
Júlio César Clemente Baptista is a Brazilian footballer; Brock Edward Lesnar is
an American professional wrestler, actor, former mixed martial
artist,professional football player and amateur wrestler, signed with WWE; Max
Mirnyi is a professional tennis player
from Belarus.